Frank r



tlatrrl Stairs aient ohliiilrr.

Letters Patent No. 99,977, dated .February 15, 1870.

IMPROVEMENT IN FOLDING- CRATES.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part o! the saine.

To all whom 'it may concern:

, drawing and to the letters of reference marked thereon, making part of this spccification, in which- Figure 1 is a side view of the box or crate, with one end piece or gate in position, and the other elevated.

Figure 2 is an end view ofthe boi: opened.

Figure 3 is atop plan view of the b' x orcrate closed.

Figure 4 is a side view of the boxl'or crate closed.

The object of my present inventi n is to produce a box or crate for the reception and ltranspor'tation ot' fruit, vcgetrrbles, eggs, poultry, Sac., constructed in such manner that when not in use `it can readily beso folded that' it will occupy but little space-ino more, indeed, than what is required by the thickness ofthe material used in its manufacture. l y

The nature of my invention consists in construct-ing the box or crate partially of boards and partially of slats, ,as shown in the present drawing; or, it' desired, the entire box or cnrte may be constfrr'rcted of boards; the sides and ends may be all barred@ or grated.

The top and bottom, sides, and end pieces are so connected as to provide, as it were, aisystem of hinged, joints throughout the entire box, and the same working in srrch manner that under all dircunrstances the opposite sides ofthe box shall be always parallel.

The box or crate is firmly secured by straps and bands, andthe hinges for the connecting joints can readily be formed, if desired, by simply looping the ends of tlrese bands.

When the box is"set up it is braced and held in a fixed position by simply letting one ofthe gates drop, which enters and lits between the sides so as to completcly close that end ofthe box.

The fruit or other article to be shipped or transported is thenl placed in the box or crat'e, and the remaining gate is then brought in position, and both gates securely fastened by means of a hasp or other equivalent device. These lrasps are so arranged, in connect-ion with the folding sections of th'e boxas to be readily made to perforin a double otlice; that is,

they protect the contents of the box when the sanref is filled, and they also serve as a convenient means ot' fastening the dit'erent pieces together when folded, thus securely guarding the same against breakage, of which there is always more or less danger when the diiferent sections are left loose.

The gates are so attached, by a. loop in the end of the brace, band, or other hinge, either directly to the top or to a bearing bar secured thereto, as to allow of their utmost freedom of movement. These gates may be attached so as to fold either inwardly or outwardly; and being the only brace or support that retains the sides in an upright position, so soon as they are thrown out the box falls.-

When the box or crate is to be used for the transportationof fruit the inner surface of the slats are 'so beveled 'as to he nearly semi-circular. By this simple arrangement tlro fruit is saved much bruising.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation. l

The boxer crate may be of any desired dimensions or proportions, of anyconvenient form, and constructed of any suitable material.

The top A, as shown in the drawing, rs of a grateform, consisting of slats, a a and cross-slats, a' a', se-

curely nailed or otherwise fastened together. 0r, if preferred, the top A may be constructed of board, .as

is the bottom B; or, 'vice versa, the bottom B may be composed of slats. v

Around the edges of the inner surface of the bottom B, I secure strips, b b'. y The strips-b l), which are it, the ends of the box, serv'e as bearings for the gates to rest against, preventing them from being swung too far in, and also retaining them in a perpendicular position when the box is set up and closed..

To the side strips b' b' the lowerv edge of the sides C C are hinged, their upper edges being in like manner secured to a bar or st-ripa2 a2, secured to the under'surlace of-the top A. These sides C C, as well as the gates or end pieces D D, may be made of slats or boards In the drawing both styles are represented.

The sides C C are provided with bars,, e c, and the gates D D with brace-bars, dd. When-.the sides and gates are constructed of boards these bars serve to strengthen the same, and when constructed of slats they serve as convenient means for securing the same together. -In either case they assist in so holdingvthe surfaces of the brace-band E apart as to afford the loop-ends e e for the hinge-joint connection.

- E E are the brace-bands, and may be constructed of any suitable material. I usually form them of the same quality of metal that is used in securing the drygoods box or package. These bands E E are secured to the sides O C, near the-irends, and encircle their entire surface, the loop-ends ee passing over the strips a b' b', forming a cheap. convenient, and durable joint. The upper surlaceof these strips a2 a b b' is so rounded as to allow of the utmost freedom of movement to the sides.

The end pieces or gates D D are secured by bands, E' E', in like manner.

1f desired, a bar, d', may be secured on the upper surface of the box or crate, and the looped ends ot the -bracebantls E'- E of the'gates D D may be secured over the same.

Instead of connecting the gates D D in this manner, the brace-bands E' may be oi' the style shown 4at F F, iig. 1, und so jointed at ff as to form the the plan by whiclrthe boxor crate is constructed, andv it will be observed that the opposite sides of the box arealways parallel, so that when the box is folded its width is increased theheight ofthe box. It can, however, be so arranged that the length, and not the width,shali4 be thus increased, without altering at all the principle inv'ol'ved in'its construction:

The operation is als follows:

The box or'cmte being in the position shown in gs. 1 and 2, is readyibr the recept-ion of the articles to be shipped, one ofthe gates being elevated and the other closed, and firmly Vbracing the box so that it is impossible for it to fall. After the box has been filled,

the other gate is closed, and secured by the hasn G, or other equivalent device.

The contentsare removed by simply uniastemng` the ilasp G amhelerating one of the gates. S0 suon as the box has been emptied the other gate is thrown ont, when, there being no other stay or brace remaining, the box instantly falls, increasing in width the actual height ofthe box, in which position the hasps G G and screws Gf, G securely lock the different seetions together, as clearly shown in figs. 3 and 4.

Having Vthus fully described my. invention,

What I claim therein as new, and desire t0 secure by Letters Patent ofthe United States, is

The top A, bottom B, sides O O, and gates D D,

Vbrace-banale E E E' E' and hasps G G, when the latter are so arranged as to furnish a foldingcrate that can be secured thereby, either in the cinte ibrinor folded. as a package, substantially as described.

1n testimony whereoi`,'I lhave signed my name t0 'this specification in the presence of two subscribing 

